Joinder for knitted fabrics and method of manufacture



Jan. 28, 1964 N. MAYER JOINDER FOR KNITTED FABRICS AND METHOD OFMANUFACTURE Filed Jan. 16, 1961 FIG.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 3.

INVENTOR. VA TA A A/ MA YER BY )Q bd'w Jan. 28, 1964 N. MAYER JOINDERFOR KNITTED FABRICS AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledJan. 16, 1961 INVENTOR. NA THAN MA YER.

United States Patent 3,119,121 E'QENDER Ffild KNITTED FAERECE AWE)METHGD 6F MANUFAQTURE Nathan Mayer, Spring Road, Yonkers, NY. Filed Jan.16, 1%1, Ser. No. 32,391 9 lain1s. (Cl. 2-23) The present inventionrelates generally to the joinder of circular knitted fabrics, and inparticular to an improved method and means for hingedly interconnectingsuperposed marginal portions of a knitted fabric. My invention findsparticularly useful application in the manufacture of seamless stockingsof circular knit fabric.

As is generally understood, seamless stockings and similar knittedfabrics in tubular form are manufactured on a circular knitting machinehaving a relatively large number of needles arranged about thecircumference of the machine head. The resulting elemental tubularstocking includes many hundreds of circumferential courses of loops,with the loops being chained together longitudinally of the stockingalong successive circumferentially spaced and longitudinally extendingwales. The seamless stocking is then completed by closing the toeopening at one end of the stocking.

In order to close the toe opening, it is the practice to employ alooping machine of the type including a rotary dial or disc having aseries of radially-projecting points about the periphery thereof ontowhich the raw-edged superposed marginal portion of the partiallycompleted stocking about the toe opening are impaled for joinder. As thedial or disc is rotated, the superposed marginal portions impaled uponthe points are carried to stitching mechanisms which are adapted to forma looping chain through the impaled loops of the stockings. Themechanisms which form the looping chain includes a needle carrying aneedle thread which cooperates with each successive point and a loopercarrying a looper thread which steps through the needle thread andreturns to the rear thereof such that the needle and looper threads arechained together to form the looping chain. Further means are providedin advance of the stitching mechanisms to cut off the excess materialabove the loops impaled on the points along the looping course whichexcess material is in the form of a number of selvage courses. Means mayalso be provided to remove the cut loops contiguous to the looping line.

In the use of this type of looping machine a relatively highly skilledoperator is employed to place a single line of loops along a loopingcourse or impaling line on the points of the dial such that each loopalong the looping line is impaled on a single point, with successiveloops being impaled on successive points in precise order so that noneare missed and such that each point is covered by a loop. The impalingoperation is continued so that each loop together with its mating loopon the overlying marginal portion is properly impaled over a singlepoint in precise order. For example, if a stocking has four hundredloops along the looping course and about the circumference thereof, itis necessary for the operator to impale two hundred pairs of loops onthe points, no more, no less, without missing a point. This rathertedious, time consuming and precise operation is somewhat facilitated bythe knit-ting of a looping line into the stocking. The looping line orcourse is recognized in that it is composed of slightly larger loopswhich are formed by decreasing the interstices between adjacent loopssuch as to make the looping course or lines visible. Such looping lineor course is provided approximately 12 to 15 courses before the end ofthe nylon fabric, with a number of lines or courses of cotton beingprovided thereafter such that the operator may handle the stocking withcomparative "ice ease. It should be appreciated however that thesecourses outwardly of the looping line represent selvage and areultimately removed. Needless to say a high order of accuracy and care isrequired in the impaling of the loops on the points. The process isinherently an expensive one in that it requires substantial time totrain a looper and the employment turnover is often high due to eyefatigue and the necessity of using women with incident losses due topregnancy, marriage and the like. The very critical nature of the workwill be appreciated in that a loop which is not properly impaled upon apoint along a prescribed wale of the stocking will ultimately representa source of a run, unless corrective steps are taken in subsequentprocessing of the stocking to preclude the occurrence of such run.

It is broadly an object of the present invention to provide an improvedmethod for looping contiguous edges of knitted fabrics, such as theedges of a toe opening of a seamless stocking, which obviates one ormore of the aforesaid difficulties.

It has been suggested that it may be possible to join together thesuperposed or doubled half-edge portions of a toe opening of a stockingwithout strick regard as to the seriatim impalement of loops on pointsalong a prescribed looping course, and yet be able to provide a usefuljoinder. T 0 this end, the prior art teaches the joinder of thehalf-edged portions of the toe opening of the stocking by an auxiliaryyarn which is stitched through the half-edged portions of the toeopening outwardly of and along the circumferential or transverse coursewhich is impaled upon the points. The auxiliary thread stitched throughthe selvages course between the points and the rough edge of thesuperposed margins cooperates with the looping chain normally formedalong the line of impaled loops to join together the superposed portionsabout the toe opening. Since such auxiliary thread occupies a number ofcourses outwardly of the looping or impaling line, which coursesheretofore have been removed in that they represent selvage, it is nolonger possible to remove those selvage courses through which theauxiliary thread passes without also removing the auxiliary thread.Normally the looping chain should join together superposed andregistering loops along the looping line, with all material outwardlythereof removed, such that when the looping chain effectively serves asan unobstructed hinge, the optimum condition is that the fabric evenalong the line of joinder, should assume the character of a singleknitted fabric wherein adjacent loops are joined together in a neat andprecise manner, with virtually no bulk to interfere with the hingingaction. Since in this prior art arrangement, the auxiliary threadoccupies one or more salvage courses outwardly of the line ofimpalement, it is not possible to remove all of such selvage coursesoutwardly of the ultimate line of joinder and there results a somewhatbulky rolled seam. Even if the bulk of the rolled seam and its generalunclean or fuzzy appearance due to entrapped cut threads rolled thereinwere not of themselves sufficient to preclude widespread commercialacceptance of this method of looping, there is still a further andperhaps more serious drawback in this prior art proposal. Specifically,the placement of the auxiliary thread along one or more selvage coursesoutwardly of the looping line does not effectively preclude theoccurrence of runs. The location of the auxiliary thread does notpreclude the possibility of a missed loop running along a particularwale of the stocking. Even though the possibility of running is somewhatreduce-d by the rolling in of missed loops along the line of joinder,this attempt at entrapment still does not give this proposal thenecessary positive assurance for commerical acceptance.

It is a further object of the present invention to profabric.

vide an improved joinder for the superposed marginal portions of aknitted fabric which minimizes the possibility of runs incident to theless than perfect engagement of fabric loops on the points of a loopingmachine. Specifically, it is within the contemplation of the presentinvention to provide an improved method and means of joining bargins ofa toe opening in a seamless stocking which reduces the need of a highorder of skill on the part of the operator, enables the manufacture ofthe joinder without perfect point by point engagement of fabric loops onpoints, virtually eliminates the possibility of a missed looprepresenting a source of a run, substantially reduces the unit cost formanufacture of such joinder, and substantially reduces the tediumincident to impaling the loops upon the points.

'1 have found that a barrier thread may be placed along a barrier courseinwardly of the looping chain which joins the superposed marginalportions of the knitted fabric together. The barrier thread is picked upand locked into the looping chain and is located such that if reasonablecare is exercised in impaling the loops on the points, a substantiallyrun-free joinder is provided between the superposed marginal portions.

In accordance with method aspects of the present invention, fabric loopsof the superposed marginal portions are impaled upon a series of spacedpoints along an impaling line substantially along a looping course whichis removed from the marginal or free edges of the knitted A barrierthread is passed through the fabric loops of at least one barrier courseat the side of the looping course removed from the marginal edges andabout the points to provide barrier loops along the impaling line whichpreferably exceed in number the number of fabric loops along the loopingcourse. When the looping chain is formed along the impaling line tointerconnect the impaled and superposed fabric loops, the barrier loopsare picked up and locked into such looping chain.

The above brief description, as well as further objects, features andadvantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated byreference to the following detailed description of a presently preferredmethod in accordance with the present invention and product attainablethereby, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the disc or dial of a typicallooping machine having superposed marginal 'portions of a length ofcircular knitted fabric impaled on the points thereof;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic showing of a typical knitted fabric as it mightbe impaled along a looping course or line on the points of the disc ordial of the looping machine, with the path of the barrier thread beingillustrated about a number of successive points; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary planned view of two superposedmarginal portions of a knitted fabric joined together in accordance withthe teachings of the present invention.

Referring now specifically to FIG. 1 there is shown a dial or disc of aconventional and commercially available looping machine which has aplurality of spaced points 12 projecting radially beyond theperipherythereof upon which points '12 are impaled successive pairs ofloops of doubled or superposed marginal portions 8;, S of a length of atubular knitted fabric, such as the seamless stocking S. For a detailedshowing of a typical machine of this type, reference may be made to US.Patent Nos. 1,725,819 and 1,725,825 of August 27, 1929, and US. PatentNo. 2,871,806 of February 3, 1959. Since the details of such dial-typelooping machine form no part of the present invention, furtherdescription thereof is dispensed with thereof in the interest ofsimplicity and clarity.

Preliminary to a detailed description of the article and method aspectsof the present invention, it may be best to describe the generalconstruction of a typical piece of tubular or circular knitted fabric.For the sake of convenience, one superposed marginal portion S of thefabric S is removed in FIG. 2, leaving only the marginal portion S whichincludes plural transversely or circumferentially extending courses ofloops, four typical courses being designated by the reference numerals16, 18, 2.0 and 22. These circumferential courses of loops are linkedtogether lengthwise of the circular or tubular knit fabric bylongitudinally-extending wales, four typical wales being generallydesignated by the reference numerals 24, 26, 28, 30. Each of the walesincludes longitudinally aligned loops of successive courses chainedtogether along the length of the tubular fabric. It should beappreciated that there are many hundreds of loops about any onecircumferential course and many thousands of loops along the wales ofthe tubular knitted fabric. Each loop (i.e. loop 16c along course 16)includes opposed legs interconnected by a bight and is connected to thenext adjacent loop (i.e. loop 16 along course 16) to provide aninterstice between the loops 162 and 16 Of course the loops are chainedtogether longitudinally (i.e. loop 16:: being chained through theadjacent loop 18a of course 18). Upon trimming the fabric (i.e. asrepresented by the cutting line L) for example incident to closing thetoe opening of the seamless stocking S, the loops along the wales willbe free to run unless positive provision is made to precludedisengagement of successive loops along a Wale. This is accomplished byappropriately finishing the marginal edges to confine the loops againstrunning through the provision of a joinder in the form of a loopingchain which results in an articulated interconnection between the loopsalong such marginal edges. For the sake of convenience in describing thepresent invention, the circumferential courses of loops 16, 18 will beconsidered to be representative of the approximately five or moreselvage courses which are to be removed before the linking together bythe looping chain of aligned loops of the superposed margins along thelooping course 20. Such looping course will be identifiable in an actualstocking in that it includes loops that are somewhat larger than theloops of other courses. The looping course is usually locatedapproximately five courses inwardly from the end of the nylon, therebeing other courses of cotton knitted into the fabric outwardly of thesefive selvages courses of nylon to facilitate handling.

Continuing reference will now be made to the diagrammatic showing ofFIG. 2 for a description of a typical method of impaling loops on thepoints 12a to Hi inclusive of the loping dial which points have beenshown on a somewhat reduced scale as compared to the side of the loops(i.e. loops 29a) in order to more clearly disclose the invention.Normally however, it will be appreciated that the points (i.e. point121:) are tightly engaged by the lops (i.e. loop 20a); and that on eachone of the points there will be impaled a mating pair of loops, onebehind the other in that the superposed marginal portions 8 S of thestocking S are concurrently impaled on successive points. Only one ofthe superposed marginal portions S of the circular knitted fabric isshown in FIG. 2, although it is to be observed that both superposedmarginal portions S S are shown in FIG. 3, with the rear marginalportion S slightly offset to the left for the purposes of illustration.As seen in FIG. 2, there has been an attempt to impale the loops 20a to2011 along the looping course 20 on the points 12b to .121 of thedial-type looping machine. The condition shown in FIG. 2 may beconsidered to be illustrative of that which may be encountered with afairly skilled operator using a reasonable measure of skill to impalethe successive loops on the points. This illustrative condition istypical of what will occur in the less than perfect loop impalement andcan be tolerated in accordance with method and product aspects of theinvention. However, it is to be noted that the operator cannotcompletely disregard the necessity of attemping to attain point by pointimpalement.

If the operator takes reasonable precaution in stretching the fabric asthe impalement is achieved to avoid the situation where a whole group ofloops are forced between adjacent points, the impalement will besufficiently accurate to achieve a useful end product in accordance withthe invention. In this typical, but nonetheless illustrative example,the loop 200 along the looping course was not impaled on the point 12bof the dial of the looping machine; and similarly, the loops g, 2911were not impaled on the points 12h, 1 2i. Normally, and in the absenceof the positive barrier provided in accordance with the presentinvention, there would be a run along the wale 28 where the loops 28cwas not impaled upon the point 12d and further runs along the walescontaining loops 20g, 2%.

In accordance with the present invention, a barrier thread 32 isprovided to join together the superposed margins S S along a barriercourse 22 at the side of the looping course 20 remote from the roughedges and the several selvage courses 16, 18. The barrier thread 3 2also is looped about the successive points 12a to Hi of the illustratedsegment of the dial '10 of the looping machine. The barrier 32 isintroduced by means of a curved needle (not shown) which penetrates thestocking S along the barrier course 22 (one course below the line ofimpalement or looping course 20) and is dropped over the points .12.Since the details of the mechanisms for introducing the barrier threadare not necessary for an understanding of the present invention, thedescription is omitted in the interest of brevity. The barrier thread 32penetrates the stocking or other knit fabric at least two times for eachloop along the looping course 20. In that the barrier thread 32penetrates the knitted fabric below the points 12:: to 121', it must ofnecessity lock a missed loop (i.e. loops 290, 26g, 20h) from runningbelow the level of the barrier course 22 which is immediately contiguousto the looping course 20. Any missed loops along successivelongitudinally extending wales (i.e. wale 28) have the barrier thread 32running through the same. The barrier thread is loop around the pointsand accordingly is locked along the looping course 24 by the loopingchain 34 which is stitched in along the looping course 29, as isgenerally understood and as will subsequently be described inconjunction with FIG. 3. The barrier thread 32 traverses the point bypairs (i.e. points 120,12!) as a first pair, points 12b, 120 as a secondpair, etc.). There is suflicient slack in the barreir thread afterremoval from the points such that excellent hinging of the superposedmarginal portions or sections S S may be realized when the stoclo'mg 0rtubular knitted fabric is removed from the points and allowed to berestored to a flattened condition wherein the superposed margins aresubstantially coplanar in the region of the line of joinder.

A typical course for the barrier thread 32 in relation to several points12a to 12c and several loops 20a to 20h will now be described in detailto further facilitate an understanding of its function and purpose.Specifically, the barrier thread 3-2 (insofar as the loop 22a along thebarrier course 22 is concerned) penetrates the loop 22a inwardly of theleft leg thereof and includes a iirst pass or segment 3 2a which passesupwardly and to the left about the point 112a. The thread 32 then has afurther pass or segment 3215 which passes from the point 12a to thepoint 1% in the next adjacent loop 20:: along the looping course 2% Thebarrier thread then has a pass or segment 320 which passes downwardlyand over the bight of the loops 22a, re-enters the loop 22a, and iswrapped around the right leg thereof. The barrier thread 32 after itpasses around the right leg of the loop 22a includes a further pass orsegment 32d which passes upwardly towards the point 12a, in the samegeneral direction as the pass 32a, and about the point 12a. The barrierthread 32 then has a segment 352ewhich passes from the points 12:: aboutthe point 12b along a path substantially coextensive with the segment32b. After passing about the point 12b, the barrier thread includes apass or segment 32 which crosses the interstice between the loops Ztia,Ztbb along the looping course 20 and crosses the interstice between theloops 22a, 22b where it is wrapped about the left leg of the nextadjacent loop 2% along the barrier course 22. This completes thetraverse of the barrier thread 32 in relation to the first pair ofpoints 12a, 12b and thereupon the barrier thread provides two similarturns in relation to the points 121b, 12c and the corresponding fabricloops. In this fashion, the continuous barrier thread 32 is worked intosuccessive loops 22a, 2211 along the barrier course 22 and is impaledover the successive points 12a, 12:, with two passes or turns of thebarrier thread over each pair of the points as described.

.The dial l2 slowly rotates to remove the impaled stockings from thelocation or station where the automatic mechanisms are provided toengage the barrier thread 32 as described, and the superposed marginalportions S S of the stocking S with the barrier thread 32 engaged, moveon to a location or station where, preliminary to forming the loopingchain 3 4 along the looping course 2%, the selvage portions outwardly ofthe looping course 2% are removed. The cutting away of such selvageportion is illustrated diagrammatically in FIG. 2 by the cutting line L,it being appreciated that the se lvage rows in, 118 are present at thelocation or station where the barrier thread is engaged although thisimpression may not be derived from the illustrative and diagrammaticshowing of FIG. 2. If it be considered that the knitted fabric is movingfrom right to left in FIG. 2 and that the barrier thread 32 is engagedat a location or station somewhat to the right side of FIG. 2, theremoval of the selvage courses 16, 18 will be better understood.

After the selvage courses are removed by cutting along the line L acrossthe legs of the loops along the selvage course 18, the cut portions ofthe loops which remain between the impaled loops on the points arebrushed away, leaving the fabric loops along the looping course 2%impaled upon the points, and of course, the associated barrier threadloops. For example, it will be appreciated that when the loops 18c, 13are cut across, a part of the right leg of the loop 13c and the left legof the loop 18f and the interconnecting portion thereof will be stillengaged between the loops 20c, Ztif impaled respectively on the points12f, 12g. It is such uncut loops that are brushed away after cuttingaway of the selvage portions.

At the next location or station of the machine, the looping chain 34 isengaged along the looping course 2th and will connect together thesuccessive superposed loops and lock the turns of the barrier thread 932along the looping course 2%. The barrier thread 32 and the furtherstitching 34 together hingedly interconnect the loops along the loopingcourse 2h. The chained loop 34 includes a looper thread as and a needleor locking thread 38 which are interlocked by stitching mechanisms, asdisclosed in detail in the aforesaid patents. When the confronting oraligned pairs of mating loops are impaled upon the points as shown inFIG. 3 at the first, second and fourth pairs of loops, the interlockinglooper and needle thread 36, 33 hingedly interconnect such pairs ofmating loops and at the same time lock the several turns of the barrierthread 32 together along the same course or line. When however, a pairof mating or registering loops are not impaled upon the points, as shownfor the third pair of loops in FIG. 3, the looper and needle threads as,38 of the looping chain 34- will only lock the adjacent turns of thebarrier thread 32 along the looping or impaling line. However, for suchmissed pair of fabric loops, the barrier thread 32 is wrapped around theopposite legs of the loop along the barrier course 22 in the very samelongitudinal wale 28 and will be effective to block the running of thechain of loops and the creation of the corresponding imperfection in thestocking. Effectively the interconnected looper and needle threads 36,38 at each pair of registering fabric loops provides individual hingesflexibly interconnecting such loops. When the superposed marginalportions S S are brought into substantially coplanar relation, theopposite half sections of the looping course 20 will provide arelatively fiat, bulkless line of joinder in which the loops are wellarticulated with respect to each other. For all intents and purposes,the fabric at the line of joinder will assume the character of a singleknitted fabric joined together, loop by loop, in a neat and precisemanner, with missed loops being blocked against running by the barrierthread 32.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that there has been providedin accordance with the present invention, an improved method for joiningtogether the free edges of superposed margins of a stocking which boundthe toe opening thereof. The joinder is along a circumferential loopingcourse which is spaced from the free edges of the margins and forms arelatively flat toe seam which includes a barrier thread joiningtogether the margins along the looping course and along at least onebarrier course at the side of the looping course remote from the freeedges and further chain stitching joining together the margins along thelooping course. The barrier thread and further chain stitching are sointerengaged with respect to each other along the looping course so asto hingedly interconnect the margins, with the barrier threadeffectively precluding running yet introducing virtually no bulk intothe joinder. Although the invention has been described with respect toits specific application to the manufacture of seamless hoisery, it willbe appreciated that the method and article aspects herein find otheruseful application for joining circular knit fabrics.

A latitude of modification, change and substitution is intended in theforegoing disclosure and in some instances some features of theinvention will be employed without a corresponding use of otherfeatures. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims beconstrued broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scopeof the invention herein.

What I claim is:

1. In a circular knitted fabric including successive circumferentialcourses of loops joined together lengthwise of said fabric to providelongitudinal wales, the improvement comprising means for joiningtogether superposed margins of said fabric along a circumferentiallooping course spaced from the edges of said margins, said meansincluding a barrier thread joining together said margins along at leastone barrier course at the side of said looping course remote from saidedges and along said looping course, and stitching joining together saidmargins along said looping course, said barrier and said stitching beinginterengaged with each other along said looping course and togetherhingedly interconnecting said margins, said superposed marginsintermediate said looping course and said edges being removed such thatsaid superposed margins may be swung about the hinge provided by saidbarrier and said stitching and provide a relatively flat and bulklessline of joinder between said margins.

2. In a circular knitted fabric including successive circumferentialcourses of loops joined together lengthwise of said knitted fabric toprovide longitudinal wales, the improvement comprising means for joiningtogether superposed margins of said fabric along a circumferentiallooping course spaced longitudinally from the edges of said margins,said means including a barrier thread joining together said marginsalong at least one barrier course at the side of said looping courseremote from said edges and along said looping courses and lock stitchingincluding a looping thread and a locking thread joining together saidmargins along said looping course, said barrier and lock stitching beinginterengaged with each other along said looping course and togetherhingedly interconnecting said 8 margin, said superposed marginsintermediate said looping course and said edges being removed such thatsaid superposed margins may be swung about the hinge provided by saidbarrier and said stitching and provide a relatively fiat and bulklessline of joinder between said margins.

3. In a circular knitted fabric including successive circumferentialcourses of loops joined together lengthwise of said knitted fabric toprovide longitudinal wales, the improvement comprising means for joiningtogether superposed margins of said fabric along a circumferentiallooping course spaced longitudinally from the edges of said margins,said means including a barrier thread joining together said marginsalong at least one barrier course at the side of said looping courseremote from said edges and along said looping course, stitching joiningtogether said margins along said looping course, said barrier andstitching being interengaged with each other along said looping courseand together hingedly interconnecting said margins, said barrier threadpassing successively through one loop along said barrier course in onewale to a preceding loop along said looping course in the precedingwale, then to the one loop along said looping course in said one wale,then about said one loop along said barrier course in said one wale,then to the preceding loop along said looping course, then to the oneloop along said looping course in said one wale and in similar fashionsuccessively along said barrier and looping courses.

4. The improvement according to claim 3 wherein said stitching includesa looping chain of a looping thread and a locking thread interlockedwith each other.

5. The improvement according to claim 4 wherein the several passes ofsaid barrier thread at each loop along said looping course are engagedand locked by said looping chain.

6. A method for joining together superposed margins of a circularknitted fabric of the type including successive circumferential coursesof loops chained together longitudinally of said fabric to formsuccessive longitudinal wales of loops about the circumference of saidfabric including the steps of impaling fabric loops of said superposedmargins of said fabric upon a series of spaced points along an impalingline to bring the loops of a looping course spaced from the free edge ofsaid margins in aproximate registry one behind the other, cutting awaysaid superposed margins intermediate said impaling line and said freeedges to remove the corresponding selvagcs, stitching a barrier threadcicumferentially along said looping course to form barrier loops at theregistering loops therealong and through the registering loops along atleast one adjacent barrier course at the side of said looping courseremote from said free edges, stitching connecting threadscircumferentially through the registering loops along said loopingcourse through said barrier loops therealong and about said barrierthread, and opening said superposed margins into substantial coplanarrelation such that the interconnected loops provide a relatively flatand bulkless line of joinder.

7. A method of joining superposed margins of a knitted fabricsubstantially along a looping course removed from the free edges thereofcomprising the steps of impaling fabric loops of said superposed marginsupon a series of spaced points along an impaling line substantiallyalong said looping course but without strict regard to perfectengagement of fabric loops on the points, cutting away said superposedmargins intermediate said impaling line and said free edges to removethe corresponding selvages, passing a barrier thread through the fabricloops of at least one barrier course at the side of said looping courseremote from said free edges and about said points to provide barrierloops of said barrier thread along said impaling line which exceed innumber the number of fabric loops along said looping course, stitchingalong said impaling line to interconnect the impaled superposed fabricloops and said barrier loops along said impaling line, and swinging saidsuperposed margins about the hinge provided by the interconnected loopsto provide a relatively flat and bulkless line of joinder.

8. A method of joining superposed margins of a knitted fabricsubstantially along a looping course removed from the free edges thereofcomprising the steps of impaling fabric loops of said superposed marginsupon a series of spaced points along an impaling line substantiallyalong said looping course but without strict regard to perfectengagement of fabric loops on the points, cutting away said superposedmargins intermediate said impaling line and said free edges to removethe corresponding selvages, passing a barrier thread through the fabricloops of at least one barrier thread through the fabric loops of atleast one barrier course at the side of said looping course remote fromsaid free edges and about said points to provide barrier loops of saidbarrier thread along said impaling line which exceed in number thenumber of fabric loops along said looping course, forming a loopingchain along said impaling line which interconnects the impaledsuperposed fabric loops and said barrier loops along said impaling line,and opening said superposed margins into substantial coplanar relationsuch that the interconnected loops provide a relatively fiat andbulkless line of joinder.

9. The method according to claim 8 including the step of brushing awaythe cut loops after cutting away the selvages to leave only those fabricloops which are impaled on said points.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,981,315 Goodman Nov. 20, 1934 2,871,806 Bley Feb. 3, 1959 2,903,872LedWell Sept. 15, 1959 2,980,917 Slane Apr. 25, 19 6 1

1. IN A CIRCULAR KNITTED FABRIC INCLUDING SUCCESSIVE CIRCUMFERENTIALCOURCES OF LOOPS JOINED TOGETHER LENGTHWISE OF SAID FABRIC TO PROVIDELONGITUDINAL WALES, THE IMPROV